Marathoning

Post Oak Challenge, Tulsa

Published February 28, 2016

I get by with a little help from my friends” — the Beatles

2 weeks ago my first ultra, last Saturday marathon #53 – this weekend, BOTH. Before Moab, had never run trail nor finished an ultra distance (even in training). Big disconnect [in my head] between trying one & signing up for 5 this year, huh?

Maniac running buddy, Stacy hooked us up with a few of her running friends, Andrew & Elizabeth…and BAM, new friends for life. Easy hour-half flight to Tulsa, 6 hours of zzz’s, morning alarm confirmed wake-time for Saturday’s 50K.

Double-shirted early, cool start – however expecting day temps to top out near 80; gonna be a warm one. Tulsa-native Andrew forewarned today’s 4-loop course would be a tough one…finish estimate, 8 hours.

Day Highlights: ‘the Hill from Hell’ and Holmes Peak – climbing these two giants not once but FOUR times. Yikes!

circle of friends: awesome weekend of run & sun

Elected to take the early start – award ineligible, but outta day temps an hour early. No regrets, good decision. Started quick, held that pace for 14 miles. Well marked course, green-ribbons every 20-30 feet. Expended lotta energy; lapped by elites beginning of lap 3. Dropped to a single shirt & flushed fluids. Paced slower, started walking hills.

FAVE Aid Station – Oklahoma Oktoberfest (costumes, music, upbeat volunteers) – both sweet & salty snack-equipped. Sounds disgusting but…pickle juice, day’s best mate.

Haven’t ever been a marathon eater, so struggling running even longer distances with little/no fuel. Generally bonk after 5-5 ½ hours. Colder temps help extend the window — but 6 hours in, mental succumbs to physical & all falls apart. Pace, breathing, posture fail. Yeah, I become a hot mess.

3^rd go at ‘the Hill from Hell’, 1.7 kilometers further: lap 4 start. More pickle juice.

Snapped shots of an armadillo (don’t see THAT everyday) & pushed down a handful of salty Fritos at the Oktoberfest station. 15-year old elite runner, Brandon Plate, lagged just behind – struggling, just wasn’t his day (remember, he’s running a 50K [31+ miles] at just age 15). Asked if he wanted to jog the next hill…he wasn’t talking. Told him I was running up, expected he would pass me on the downhill – that’s just the way it happened. Kid came alive with conversation. Walked lotta the last 4 miles – at a good clip, but still walking. Only goal this weekend was to complete my first Double – 50K Saturday, marathon Sunday. Energy level UP, paced strong from Heaven’s Gate to the Finish.

2^nd ultra FINISH in 3 weeks!

Half-bowl of chili & a banana. Sink-washed salt caked ‘round my eyes, sides of my face. Met up with Stacy, Andrew & Elizabeth – shared the Tulsa skyline in our host’s rooftop hot tub. FAAANNNTASTIC! Fun sharing war stories & later, pasta (thanks Elizabeth).

Groundhog Day — all starts again Sunday morn.

No breakfast. Tired, wonky from prior day’s run in noon day sun, can’t eat. Today – 26.2 miles of trail. Again, 4 laps…flattened from yesterday, no Holmes Peak – but ‘Hill from Hell’ four times more.

Didn’t lead the pack this go-around but paced faster than expected, settled into fourth. In-n-out the tree-trail maze, stopped for Oktoberfest. Smell of pickle juice & Fritos turned my stomach (too much of a good thing I suppose). Sip of water, kept plugging along.

Long downhill stretch. Bounced, trail jarred – stopped, puked. Ugh. Gotta take in fluids, hold something down. Small cup of Powerade before ‘the Hill from Hell’, spewed blue near Heaven’s Gate. New plan: Run faster. Not hydrating, need to Finish sooner. Wooded oak section, stop: orange Powerade – puke. Ran steady with a group of Halfers – held pace uphill, briefly gapped on the downs.

2^nd time up ‘the Hill from Hell’. Dry heaving, struggling mentally (no food, no liquid, no fuel).

Started Lap 3.

First Aid Station, stopped. Legs ok but dizzy, spinning, oddly emotional. What to do? Radioed the Race Director, asked ’bout my options. I could downgrade to the Half, still complete the Double Challenge – not take a DNF. Ok, done.

Dehydrated, received an IV of fluids: virtual insta-fix. Nausea near gone, met up with Andrew & Elizabeth (who also ran downgraded distances) & finished a half-bowl of chili. Much better now.

Messaged an Oklahoma-based friend I hoped to see at the Finish. There she is – hadn’t seen Lory in 25 years. WOW! Same face, same laugh, same great sense of humour. Worked together a lifetime ago. She a 22-year-old bartender; I an underage waiter. Soooo instead of slogging 13 miles more trail, got to share time with a gal I hadn’t seen in light years. Everything happens for a reason 🙂

AND 3 of us picked up Post Oak plaques – DOUBLE SUCCESS!

Celebrated with Mexican [food] at a neighborhood restaurant, then airport returned to Denver. Awesome weekend of friends – both old & new! Wouldn’t have been the same without any of them.

2016 POSTOAK CHALLENGE

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28th, 2016

TULSA, OK

DOUBLE RESULTS – 50K & HALF MARATHON – MALE/FEMALE

Place Name City/State 50k Time Ha Time Net time Bib#

===== ========== ============= ======== ========

5 K R Haga Louisville CO 8:05:45 2:59:30 11:05:15 97

: 50K start (far right, white cap)

: 31 miles of deciduous woodland, Osage hills & Sooner prairie

: ARMADILLO!

: Oklahoma Oktoberfest [fave Aid Station]

: today’s Tulsa skyline WOW shot

: Holmes Peak 1030ft: quite the haul

: not one, not 2…but 4 monster climbs UP

: 2nd ultra in 3 weeks

: Day One Challenge SUCCESS!

: 25 years later, these faces never change 🙂

: faces maybe never, but fashion trends do (white pants/high collar, circa 1988)

: double Challenge plaque: 50K Saturday, half-marathon Sunday

Posted in Heartland, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged trail-running, wildlife | Leave a comment

Red Rock Canyon Marathon, Las Vegas

Published February 20, 2016

20 hours in Sin City – quick in & out, logged my 53^rd marathon finish.

Another half-day Friday workday, autobahn’d to the airport, less than 2 hours later – palm trees & desert in sunny Las Vegas. Scored a ride to Suncoast Resort, our host hotel in North Las Vegas. [As luck would have it, saw a fellow 50 Stater on my flight & hitched a ride.] Walked thru the casino to registration – smell of cigarette smoke always comes as a surprise. No allergies here, just odd to see cigarette smoking…think it’s been outlawed in public buildings & restaurants since the 1980’s.

Lucked into a dinner invite, tagged along with 3 other marathoners – fun pre-race Italian feast. Big fan of red sauce 🙂

Early, early a.m. – bus transportation started at 4:45am to Red Rock Canyon. Staying at the host hotel, luckily slipped onto a later bus – arrived 30 minutes before the 6:15 full marathon start (halfers left from the Visitors Center, 13 miles away).

Quads still tight from last weekend’s 55K mountain adventure in Moab. My sis ran the Red Rock Half while at a work conference last year, forewarned ‘bout the climb & struggled with altitude. Head manta scroll: I eat HILLS for breakfast. I’ve got this – no fear.

Snapped a few pics of the desert landscape & BAM – on our way. Rolling ups & downs…nothing noteworthy – long hill incline started at mile 4. Five miles later, stayed at it but yeah, I felt it. Fast 2-mile downhill – 7:30 minute/miles…dodged shared-lane Halfers ‘til mile 12. Two laps ‘round the Visitors Center, dropped my 2^nd shirt, popped salt pills & Advil, juiced three orange slices. Mile 14 loomed ahead AND our 2^nd five-mile incline. This is the climb Sis warned about. Walk, jog, aid station water. Short run, walk, jog. Aid station water. No joke. Passed a cyclist – must be a tough climb even on wheels…’cause I certainly wasn’t moving fast.

No 7:30-minute brag pace on the downhill return – LOL> trotted to mile 22….but credibly, no walk – paced slow but ran with 2 other runners thru mile 25. They dropped me at the last water station .7 miles from the Finish.

Red rock beauty & vacant desert calm. Not a great run, a 5 hour full. BUT coming only 7 days after Moab, I’ll take it.

Last Saturday 55K trail run in Moab, this Saturday road marathon in Vegas – next weekend? BOTH. Attempting my first double in Tulsa OK – 50K trail on Saturday, full marathon Sunday. Goal is a multi-day adventure race in 2017. Can’t fail if you don’t try 🙂

Red Rock Canyon Marathon

February 20, 2016 — Results By Calico Racing

K R HAGA Louisville CO 5:01:40.2

: pre-race, pre-dawn smile share

: canyon rock & sage brush

: Calico Rock

: popular with rock climbers, easy on the eyes

: protected species living in Red Rock Canyon; depicted on today’s finishers medal

: beautiful, hill-brutal course (heat-exposed finish pics)

: colorful desert landscape — LOVED it!

: quick 20 hours in Sin City; back home in time for dinner 🙂

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Pacific/Desert | Tagged road-signs | Leave a comment

Red Hot 55K, Moab

Published February 13, 2016

The Red Hot is located northwest of Moab, Utah just west of Arches National Park. Red Hot runners will have majestic views of the La Sal Mountains to the southeast and breathtaking views of Canyonlands National Park to the west. The course is beautiful but challenging this is why..it attracts elite runners like Ian Torrence, Karl Meltzer, Rob Krar, Anton Krupicka, Dakota Jones and many more!

We are a week away from race day an I would like to update on a couple of important issues for day of race. Moab has been experiencing a cold winter with a substantial amount of snow. Be prepared for possible ice and snow on the course especially in northfacing sections, but most of the course is exposed to the sun. With this said there can be a slight possibility the last aid station before the finish line could be 3 miles further from its intended location. I say slight chance because our jeep club has added wenching spikes at the infamous “waterfall” to pull their vehicles up this section. Our last aid station will radio their position to the Gold Bar aid station (55k a/s 4, 33k a/s 2). But it is the runners responsibility to be self-supportive between all aid stations and prepared for any changes during event. This is trail running not a road marathon!

Cutoff Time 55k: 12:00pm at aid station 3 (mile 17). Any runners who do not make this cutoff will be considered a DNF. You may not proceed beyond this time due to rules and safety of the runner. A course sweep will be pulling markings from Gold Bar/Golden Spike. You do not want to be on the SPIKE with no markings and eventually no light!

First trail race, my first ultra. Quick kiss goodbye [pup Ro], Friday half-day work-day, 6 hours of highway…destination: Moab UT. Bib pick-up, carbo-load dinner at Pasta Jay’s – 55K tomorrow a.m.

10 miles north of town, located Gemini Bridges trailhead right off State Hwy 191. Watched the sun rise over the red rock desert landscape. Quiet, so much colour. Cold morning, surroundings still covered in snow from an unexpected mid-week storm. ½ mile walk to the trailhead on frozen red mud – mental note: gonna get sloppy as morning sunshine wakes the ground.

7:30 instructions, 8am start. Shorts, double-shirted, SJ Ultra Vest 2.0 (first time racing with a hydration pack). Different crowd queue vs. my weekend Marathon Maniac posse. Trail ultras attract lotta Ironman athletes, participant age skews younger.

Quarter-mile of frozen mud, then UP – today’s run included 4500ft+ of vertical gain. Deep snowpack, ice, groomed snow, frozen mud, swampy slog, trail sand – before the first of 2 big sandstone climbs.

Conditions migrated from run to hike/climb – literally. Looked down on Canyonlands Nat’l Park, like peering into the Grand Canyon. WOW!

FOCUS – Aid Station 3 (mile 17) by Noon. Coming down from the 1^st bluff summit, steady, increased pace for 4 miles – conflicted inside, would my first ‘DNF’ be so bad?

Despite 50+ marathon finishes, today I was a poser – not a trail athlete. This race was way beyond my current skill level. HUGE difference from road marathoning – add the longer 55K distance (34+ miles) and yeah, today felt near impossible.

SUCCESS – Aid Station 3, 10 minutes to spare. Refilled my hydration pack, nabbed a PB&J sandwich. Another mile down, dodged off-road 4x4s making their initial climb of the day (roads were closed to vehicles ‘til noon cut-off).

18 miles of run, hike, climb – mount 2 loomed ahead. Reached the supply dump at Aid Station 4 & our loose team of 6 emerged. Me, guy from Fort Collins, 2 young women (both sported Ironman tats) & a Japanese couple, Tokichi & Kaho.

I drifted off trail 5x – 4 of those times it was Tokichi who called out. Absolutely no good at locating pink-n-black ribbons tied to snow-drenched trees in a state forest. Felt more like geocaching than marathoning.

Ran short of food, then water – I’m telling ya: COMPLETELY UNPREPARED. Again, Tokichi & Kaho came through. Mysterious powder (labeled ‘68’) to help with nausea; these two were a walking supply tent.

Last wall climb – my fingers cracked, bloodied from ice & barehand holds. Downhill trotted final 3 miles, stopped to dry heave every 4-5 minutes. Not an inspiring cinematic day. Wrapped the last canyon corner, FINISH ahead – teared up…couldn’t believe I was done.

9 hours, 2 mountains, ran/hiked/climbed in snow, ice, wind, sand & mud. Nothing left. Back-propped against a rock, nestled with a bowl of chili & waited for Tokichi & Kaho to cross – amazing couple, my Red Hot ultra trail heroes.

Whatta life experience – adventure I won’t soon forget.